Setting of Two Suns
by Snow Duchess
Summary: A look at Celes' suicide attempt on the Solitary Island.


Setting of Two Suns

"Oh my hero, so far away now. Will I ever see your smile?"

The soft words cut through the deathly silence of the desolate island. I sat on the shore and hugged my knees close to me. It was pitiful, really. A once top-ranking Imperial general rocking back and forth like a small child. I mocked myself.

"What's wrong with you, Chere? I thought you were a warrior. Not some love-starved twit, remember?"

I smiled in spite of myself when the words of the aria continued to echo in my mind.

_Love goes away like night into day. It's just a fading dream…_

The sun was just beginning to set. The yellow globe hid behind the brown clouds of dust that had blanketed the planet, giving both the sky and the water a murky brown tint.

"Oh gods, not another night alone on this wretched island…"

Three days had passed since I buried Cid. I tried to keep myself busy during the day. But there really was nothing to do but fish. There weren't very many animals on the island, and they weren't worth the trouble of killing. And my blades could only be sharpened so much.

But the days weren't nearly as bad as the nights. Gods, the nights… So long and dark… I used to like the cool darkness of night. But not like this. Here, the nights were smothering. All alone with my thoughts to haunt me when I was awake, and my dreams to persecute me when I was asleep. I knew the seemingly eternal nights would soon drive me insane.

_I'm the darkness, you're the stars. Our love's brighter than the sun._

Gazing across the mud-colored water, I felt so alone. It seemed to go on forever, like that small rock I was on was the last piece of land on Gaia. Maybe Cid was right, maybe I was the last person alive. Maybe everyone was gone… Even Locke… who promised to watch over me…

_For eternity, for me there can be only you, my chosen one…_

Locke… the first person who accepted me outside the Empire, to really care about me… And now he was gone, just like Cid and Leo…

_Must I forget you? Our solemn promise? Will autumn take the place of spring? _

I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and ran. I don't know where or for how long, but I didn't care. I wanted to run away from the pain I felt, from the utter loneliness and despair that threatened to consume me. I wanted to see Locke. I wanted to hear his voice, and have him tell me everything would be alright and that he'd protect me.

_What shall I do? I'm lost without you. Speak to me once more…_

I ran so hard that I eventually collapsed onto my knees, barely noticing the brittle blades of brown grass under me. I looked up and saw I was at the foot of a small cliff and remembered something Cid told me.

"_Those others who were here... when they were feeling down they'd take a leap of faith from the cliffs up north... perked 'em right up!"_

"Leap of faith…"

Before I knew it, I had climbed up the slope of that cliff and was standing on its summit, looking out over the rust-colored ocean. There wasn't a sign of life nor land in sight. Only ocean… Never. Ending. Ocean.

"The world's slowly ebbing away…"

I looked up at the hazy sky, my vision becoming slightly blurred. I had finally begun to rebuild my life with people I could call friends, only to have them taken away from me. Why was Fate so cruel?

"Why? Why must you torment me!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Why must I be made to suffer!" My voice dropped to a whisper. "To suffer alone?"

I felt moisture collecting in my eyes, but I ignored it. I was a general, and generals didn't cry.

"I don't want to be alone anymore. Locke… why did you leave me?"

I gazed at the sunset, at that putrid brown color. There was nothing left for me. Cid was gone, Leo was gone, probably even Locke and Terra were gone… I felt the loneliness envelop me, suffocate me.

"All I have is my magic…" I cupped my right hand and formed a chunk of ice. I studied it, then threw the ice in disgust as far out into the water below as I could. "And it means nothing to me! The sun is setting… as is the time of Celes Chere. I can't do it. I can't go on alone."

_We must part now. My life goes on. But my heart won't give you up…_

I closed my eyes and a single tear rolled down my cheek. No longer could I be strong. Not without Locke by my side…

_Ere I walk away, let me hear you say I meant as much to you…_

Taking one last look at that ruined world, I took my leap of faith. As I fell towards the water and rocks below, events of my life flashed in my mind. The most prominent memory in those few split seconds were of the opera. The way Locke looked at me and blushed… The way my heart skipped a beat when he kissed my cheek… His smile that could charm my worries away…

_So gently, you touched my heart. I will be forever yours…_

Then, I saw only darkness.

I slowly started to become aware again when I heard water swishing around me. I opened my eyes and saw I was on a beach… A very familiar looking beach.

The sun was still setting. I quickly stood up and looked behind me. There was the cabin, right where I left it. Somehow I managed to completely miss the rocks and floated back to the beach on the southern end. Warrior indeed. I couldn't even kill myself properly.

"Why can't you just let me die!" I shouted at nothing in particular.

I sank to my knees in despair. I almost drew my dagger to finish it, but stopped when I saw a bird sitting next to me. A seagull, with a blue cloth tied to it, was looking curiously at me. I recognized Locke's bandana immediately, and took it off the bird.

"Where'd you get this? Is the person who sent it still alive?"

Great. A once highly respected general asking a bird a question… Wonderful. Maybe I really had gone insane. The seagull flew off, and I stood up, studying the bandana in my hand.

"He's alive… Locke's alive…"

Raising it to my face, I rested my chin on it briefly before gazing across the ocean at the sunset. All of a sudden the horizon didn't look so brown. It had turned to a beautiful array of oranges, and the water sparkled in the sun's waning light. The ocean didn't look so endless as it once did, the island didn't appear as desolate, and the pending darkness didn't seem so intimidating anymore.

Yes, I would find him. Not as the Imperial general, for the sun had set on that role. With the morning sunrise, a new woman would be born, one who would not allow her past to get in the way ever again.

Twice now, I have narrowly escaped Hell's doorstep to die another day. Yes, I would find him; my friend, my hero, my chosen one…

_Come what may, I won't age a day. I'll wait for you always…_


End file.
